Emergency services and rescue services are organizations that ensure public safety, security, and health by addressing and resolving different emergencies. Some of these agencies exist solely for addressing certain types of emergencies, while others deal with ad hoc emergencies as part of their normal responsibilities. Many of these agencies engage in community awareness and prevention programs to help the public avoid, detect, and report emergencies effectively. Emergency services are often considered first responders, and typically have dedicated emergency vehicles.
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with search and rescue without law enforcement authority. In most countries, a typical coast guard's functions are distinct from those of the navy and the transit police, while in certain countries they have similarities to both.
Terrorism and mass attacks in Canada includes acts of terrorism, as well as mass shootings, vehicle-ramming attacks, mass stabbings, and other such acts committed in Canada that people may associate with terroristic tactics but have not been classified as terrorism by the Canadian legal system.
The Federal Protective Service (FPS) is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It is also "the federal agency charged with protecting and delivering integrated law enforcement and security services to facilities owned or leased by the General Services Administration (GSA)"—over 9,000 buildings—and their occupants.
Public Safety Canada, legally incorporated as the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (PSEPC), is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for (most) matters of public safety, emergency management, national security, and emergency preparedness in Canada.
Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is an American port authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It owns and operates three airports, Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field, and Worcester Regional Airport, and public terminals in the Port of Boston.
In the United States, fusion centers are designed to promote information sharing at the federal level between agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Justice, and state, local, and tribal law enforcement. As of February 2018, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recognized 79 fusion centers. Fusion centers may also be affiliated with an emergency operations center that responds in the event of a disaster.
Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams are Canadian counterterrorist, counter-foreign interference, and counter-espionage units operating under the auspices of Public Safety Canada. These federal investigative teams were formed in 2002 in response to the September 11 attacks.
An incident response team (IRT) or emergency response team (ERT) is a group of people who prepare for and respond to an emergency, such as a natural disaster or an interruption of business operations. Incident response teams are common in public service organizations as well as in other organizations, either military or specialty. This team is generally composed of specific members designated before an incident occurs, although under certain circumstances the team may be an ad hoc group of willing volunteers.
Law enforcement in Switzerland is mainly a responsibility of the 26 cantons of Switzerland, who each operate cantonal police agencies. Some cities also operate municipal police agencies as provided for by cantonal law.
Law enforcement in Albania is the responsibility of several agencies. The responsibility for most tasks lies with the Albanian State Police, a national police agency, which is under the authority of Ministry of Internal Affairs. Examples of other agencies with limited policing powers are the Municipal Police, which has administrative functions and operates in the local level. They are controlled by mayors.
The British Columbia Sheriff Service (BCSS) is a provincial law enforcement agency overseen by the Ministry of the Attorney General in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1857, it is the oldest law enforcement agency in the province. Sheriffs are provincial peace officers appointed under the BC Sheriff Act and BC Police Act with authority to enforce all relevant federal and provincial acts including the criminal code throughout British Columbia while in the lawful execution of their duties.
Airport police units are a security police agency assigned to perform law enforcement functions at airports. They provide a wide range of law enforcement duties and responsibilities including patrol, investigation, traffic flow management, and control and response to airport emergencies. Airport police provide enhanced safety to airport employees, and to passengers. Officers can be found at security gates, throughout the terminal area, and around the airport’s perimeter.
The counter-terrorism page primarily deals with special police or military organizations that carry out arrest or direct combat with terrorists. This page deals with the other aspects of counter-terrorism:
In many countries, particularly those with a federal system of government, there may be several law enforcement agencies, police or police-like organizations, each serving different levels of government and enforcing different subsets of the applicable law.
The District of Columbia Protective Services Division is a division of the Department of General Services of the District of Columbia Government. The organization is responsible for "law enforcement activities and physical security of all properties owned, leased or otherwise under the control of the Government of the District of Columbia."
The federal government of the United States empowers a wide range of federal law enforcement agencies to maintain law and public order related to matters affecting the country as a whole.
Law enforcement in Mexico is divided between federal, state, and municipal agencies. There are two federal police forces, 31 state police forces including two for Mexico City, and 1,807 municipal police forces. There are 366 officers per 100,000 people, which equals approximately 500,000 in total.
Arif Alikhan is a former senior official with the U.S. Department of Justice who has served in several high-level law enforcement and homeland security positions with the federal government and City of Los Angeles. He was also the Deputy Executive Director for homeland security, law enforcement, and fire/EMS at Los Angeles World Airports. He was appointed to the new position in October 2011 and is responsible for the 1,200 sworn police officers and civilian security officers that protect Los Angeles International Airport, Ontario International Airport, and Van Nuys Airport. He is also responsible for all fire and emergency medical services at LAWA's three airports. Alikhan is a former distinguished professor of homeland security and counterterrorism at the National Defense University (NDU), College of International Security Affairs in Washington, D.C. He teaches and lectures on a variety subjects involving homeland and national security issues for U.S. military and civilian security professionals. and is a recognized expert on U.S. government homeland security and counter terrorism policies.
The National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC) is a training partner and established training arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security DHS/FEMA. It is a professional alliance of seven national institutions and organizations that work to develop and deliver training, technical assistance, plan assessments, and exercises to emergency responders and first receivers at the territories, state, local and tribal levels. The members were chosen for their unique knowledge bases in the areas of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosive, medical, critical infrastructure, and incident management, and have enhanced their core competencies at the request of DHS and FEMA to include other areas as well. The following is a list of the NDPC members and their core competencies:
